Schools in Need of More than a Dozen Nurses

Qualified RNs sought to work with students on health management, prevention and education. The rickety economy has had an impact on school health clinics, which are losing full-time nurses to hospitals and doctors’ offices offering more hours.

As a result, APS is in need of more than a dozen school nurses.

Laura Case, the district’s new director of nursing services, said the job is ideal for parents of school-age children because school nurses work when students are in school. Full-time school nurses work six-and-a-half-hour days, 183 days a year, with summers and holidays off.

While those are attractive hours, they have proved to be a detriment in attracting nurses in this weak economy because many qualified individuals need more hours and more money to make ends meet. School nurses get paid a competitive hourly rate of between $25 and $41 an hour, but they work fewer hours than those in hospitals or doctors’ offices.

If nurses can make the hours work for them, there are other advantages to working in schools, Case said.

“It’s such a positive environment in which nurses can really support student health and wellness,” she said. “School nurses are educators with a focus on prevention.”

Nurses also play an important role in the management of care for students with health issues such as diabetes, asthma and allergies.

“School nurses don’t just take temperatures and put Band-Aids on skinned knees,” Case said. “Many children rely on the school nurse to help manage health plans that allow them to focus on learning.”

Despite the shortage of school nurses, schools haven’t been without health care providers this school year, Case said. The district has used agency nurses to help fill the void. However, Case said it would be nice to have more stability in school health offices.

APS is now taking applications for school nurses. Go to the job listings on the APS website for a more detailed job description and to fill out an application.

Qualifications for school nurses include:

• A BSN or bachelor’s degree in a related health field
• Current new Mexico RN license
• Three years of full-time experience in a supervised clinical nursing setting
• Current CPR certification

Preferred areas of experience include:

• School nursing
• Pediatric, hospital or ambulatory care
• Technology dependent care/pediatric ICU
• Emergency room.

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Nursing grads struggle to find jobs, despite projected shortages

Nursing is the largest healthcare occupation, adding more than a quarter million jobs last year alone, according to government figures. So why couldn’t Candice Dyer find a nursing job?

Dyer, a June 2011 graduate of Chamberlain College of Nursing in Chicago, and several of her classmates spent upwards of five months searching for their first jobs.

“I graduated back in June and took my boards back in August,” Dyer said. “From then until October, I filled out over a hundred online applications.”

Dyer, 30, continued working as a massage therapist while filing dozens of applications each week.

“I didn’t get any calls back,” she said. And next-day emails? Those were only sent to inform her that the institutions were not hiring new grads.

The job search was draining, but Dyer continued to network and her persistence paid off in October.

“I got my first interview, and my only interview, because the person I gave a massage to used to work in H.R. at the hospital,” she said.

Dyer said she considered herself lucky that the interview led to a job in her first choice of specialties as an emergency room nurse at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park.

“I was hoping to get any job and any experience,” said Dyer. “That was all I could hope for.”

The sour economy has upended projections for a U.S. nursing shortage. Baby-boomer nurses who had been expected to start retiring in large numbers are clinging to their jobs, so new grads can’t get in the door.

“They’re kind of clogging some of those vacancies right when a lot of those new R.N.s are entering the workforce,” said David Auerbach, a health economist at RAND Health, nonprofit health research arm of the RAND Corp.

Meanwhile he says, the trends show that new nursing grads in their mid-20s are the largest cohort to enter the field in several decades.

“This is an indicator of a new generation of people that is very energetic about nursing,” Auerbach said.

The log-jam is primarily confined to metropolitan areas.

Students like Dyer are fortunate to find jobs in hospital settings within the city, said Dr. Ann Solari-Twadell, director of the accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program at Loyola University. Chicago and other big cities are home to elite hospitals, the places new nursing grads aspire to. These hospitals often offer one-on-one mentors, higher pay and other perks that new nurses won’t find elsewhere.

While there is a demand for nurses in many rural and suburban settings, the jobs are often outside hospital settings, making it harder to develop expertise in a specialty.

“They’re not too excited about going to places where that professional development isn’t exactly on the front burner,” Solari-Twadell said.

The nature of nursing is changing, shifting away from hospital-based primacy. Nursing programs are evolving to meet the need and to give students a realistic view of their profession’s future.

“We know that in the future we really are going to shift care to care in the home, care in the community, care in the clinics,” said Mary Chesney, director of the doctorate nursing practice program at the University of Minnesota said. “We’re trying to prepare students for that.”

Positions like Dyer’s, she said, will become fewer as the need moves to a new identity of healthcare with an aging population.

“We are trying to help our new graduates envision a world that looks different in the world where care is delivered today,” she said.

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Improving Wound Care in a Pediatric Surgical Ward

Image Courtesy of kem.edu 

Wound care management is becoming more complex for nurses due to new insights into wound healing (Hayward & Morrison, 1996, p.11) and because of the wide variety of wound dressings that are available (Wikblad & Anderson, 1995, p.312 and Miller, 1994, p.62). Erwin-Toth and Hocevar (1995, p.46) stated that there were approximately 400 brands of wound care dressings on the market to choose from and that wound care is made even more difficult because no one dressing method suits all wounds and the choice is dependent on the cause of the wound, infection, favorability and cost (Findlay, 1994, p.836). Because of these many different wound care techniques and dressings, nurses are becoming confused and nonplussed regarding wound care practice. Unfortunately, Millers (1994, p.62) research showed that in 85% of cases nurses were using inappropriate dressings, and O’Connor (1993, p.64) found in her study on wound care that nurses were having difficulty in applying their theory and knowledge to their practice.

Action Research was the strategy used for this study because it is very appropriate for nursing research. Traditional nursing research is failing nurses because so often they do not see its relevance to their practice (Greenwood, 1984, cited in Hart, 1995, p.9). Action Research is more suited to nursing, not only because of its problem solving and evaluating features, but also for its similarity to the stages of the nursing process of planning, acting, observing, reflecting and often replanting (Bellman 1996, p.130) . Action Research is also appropriate for nurses because, it does not require expert researchers; the participants define the problem themselves; both researchers and practitioners participate together in the process (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988, pp.22-23, Hart & Bond, 1995, p.55 and Birkett, 1995, p.191); it is less structured and leaves room for possible changes; it is empowering for the participants; and reflective of their practice (Kemmis & McTaffart, pp.11-12, 50 and Titchen & Binnie, 1993, cited in Hart, 1995, p.8). Titchen and Binnie (1993, cited in Hart, 1995, p.8) also highlighted the empowering effect, and reflective practice, action research gave nurses so that they can hopefully free themselves from the medical hierarchy

The Setting and Problem

The setting of this project was a 16 bed surgical ward of a major pediatric teaching hospital. It was classified as a clean surgical ward and the case mix of patients were cardiac, ear, nose and throat (ENT), ophthalmic and the occasional others. Most of these patients were under the age of five years which made their participation in the project impossible. Because of the range of surgery performed there were many different wounds and many surgeons using different techniques in wound management even for the same procedure. This was confusing to the nursing staff and created an attitude that they did not have any say in their patients wound care.

Two issues of concern were raised by different members of the nursing staff. Firstly, the Unit Manager and Clinical Educator were concerned about the nursing staffs lack of observation and reflection on their patients wound care and the second was from the nurses regarding the many types of dressings and treatment used by different surgeons for as many different wounds--was one better than the others and for what wound? This was exacerbated even more by the introduction of yet another new dressing by one of the surgeons. From discussion on these two concerns it was decided to perform a ward audit using action research on how the nurses could improve their wound care practices and devise it so that quantitative outcomes could be compiled in the long term regarding the many types of wound management and dressings that were being used. The long term project would also be used to monitor infection rate which is required by the Health Department.

As the project was implemented as a ward audit, which did not involve patients or parents, neither financial assistance nor approval from the Hospital Ethics Committee was required.

The Planning

During the planning stage when discussions were held with senior nursing staff, the following strategies were proposed and developed:

1. A wound survey chart (See Appendix A) was devised that documented the process of observations to assess the effectiveness of wound care procedures and dressings for all the different wounds. This was formulated by two members of staff and shown to other staff for comments and suggestions for changes. For a long term project this survey chart was also shown to a member of the Hospital Research Department who made suggestions on how to improve it so data could be processed for quantitative research outcomes.
2. A research proposal was written in order to be able to inform, not only the nurses, but also the other disciplines that will be involved in the goals and objectives of the project.
3. The Head of the Surgical Department was also informed of the project and on his own reflection decided to collect data and take photos himself in his office when he saw the patients post-operatively. This information would also be made available for our project. The new dressing he was using, which he felt would promote better scarring outcomes in the future, was not removed until two weeks post-operatively so we needed his cooperation in obtaining the final outcome of the wound healing. The other surgeons and community liaison nurse were informed of the project by letter and discussion at a senior staff meeting. Out of the discussion at this meeting it was suggested that the data collected should be processed with the data they already had on the patients in their department. The same problem was raised when the Infection Control Department was informed of the project. This was our first major problem but was only relevant to the larger project in collecting data for quantitative outcomes. The facilitator would meet again with these departments to resolve this issue.
4. To provide us with a knowledge base for our decision making it was decided that the members of staff who were on relevant hospital committees, such as, infection control, product review, wound care, quality assurance, research and professional practice, would carry out literature reviews pertaining to their specific committee subject and our research project. This information they would present to the rest of the staff at following meetings or in-services. This would equip the nurses with evidence-based knowledge to obtain consensual agreement on decisions made for better practice strategies.
5. The Nurse Educator, who was reasonably familiar with the process of action research, became the facilitator and in this capacity held in-services to educate all the nurses regarding action research. This also helped to solicit more participation and inform the nurses of their role in the process.

Implementation

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Positions Available Master of Science in Nursing Cardinal Stritch University

Positions Available Master of Science in Nursing Cardinal Stritch University. Cardinal Stritch University is a private Franciscan Catholic institution of higher learning in Milwaukee, Wis. consisting of four colleges serving undergraduate and graduate programs of study. The Ruth S. Coleman College of Nursing is the only accredited Wisconsin nursing program offering all three-degree programs, ADN, BSN-C and MSN. Within the framework of Franciscan values, we provide innovative, flexible programs that integrate nursing theory and practice to meet the emerging health needs of all clients.

The Ruth S. Coleman College of Nursing at Cardinal Stritch University seeks applicants for the position of MSN program chair. This full-time administrative and leadership position reports directly to the dean of the college and is responsible for the development, management and evaluation of the NLNAC accredited MSN program.
Qualifications:

• The ideal candidate will have a earned doctorate degree in nursing or a related field and a master’s degree in nursing
• Current RN license in Wisconsin
• Experience and expertise with curriculum development, adult education and instruction
• Three or more years experience in formal nursing education
• Experience in graduate program development, administration, assessment and accreditation
• Relevant experience in teaching graduate nursing students
• Demonstrated leadership in professional nursing
• Excellent organizational, time management and interpersonal skills
• Computer literacy and familiarity with e-learning
• Grant writing experience

Satisfactory completion of a criminal background check is required prior to employment. Review of candidates continues until appointment is made. Applicants should submit letter of interest, curriculum vitae and three references with contact information by mail or email to:

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Faculty Recruitment University Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Current Faculty Positions Available

• Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Specialty Coordinator
• Faculty Position in International Health

Tenure and Tenure-Track Positions
The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing is seeking applications for a number of tenure and tenure-track positions. We invite inquiries from doctoral prepared scholars from a variety of research backgrounds and areas of specialization, particularly in (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Acute Care
• Psychiatry and Mental Health
• Geriatrics and Gerontology
• Pediatric Health

As an integral part of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center at Emory University, the School of Nursing maintains and seeks to extend research leadership and collaborative relationships with Emory’s strong interdisciplinary initiatives in:

• Neuroscience
• Palliative Care
• Critical Care
• Transplant Surgery
• Cardiovascular Health
• Comprehensive Cancer Care

In addition to submitting current Curriculum Vitae, applicants should attach a cover letter of interest and accomplishments. Please submit application materials to:

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Jobs at UMMC Baltimore Cardiac Nursing

As a Cardiac Nursing professional, it’s unbelievable how much you will grow at UMMC. Every day, you’ll find new opportunities to take your skills and knowledge to the next level. No other single facility can offer you the variety of specialties…progressive technologies…invigorating pace…and opportunities for advancement. Most importantly, you’ll find a level of collaboration and camaraderie you won’t find anywhere else. Explore Baltimore Cardiac Nursing jobs at UMMC.

Why Pursue Baltimore Cardiac Nursing Jobs at UMMC?

We’re a team at UMMC. Nurses and doctors, specialists and therapists, we work shoulder-to-shoulder to give our patients the care they deserve. We take time to celebrate each other’s contributions. We treat each other with respect. We value each other’s ideas and opinions. We support each other’s growth. Together, we form a world-class team dedicated to furthering the practice of patient care. Apply for Cardiac Nursing Jobs in Baltimore with the University of Maryland Medical Center

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Practical Nursing program

The Practical Nurse program prepares the student to take the NCLEX-PN examination required for employment as an entry-level Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). The Practical Nurse program includes theoretical instruction and clinical experience in medical, surgical, obstetric, pediatric, and geriatric nursing and clinical experience in both acute and long-term care situations. Theoretical instruction of the clinical application of vocational role and function and personal, family and community health concepts, nutrition, human growth and development over the lifespan, body structure and function, interpersonal relationship skills, mental health concepts, pharmacology and administration of medications, legal aspects of practice, Health Careers Core, Basic Life Support (BLS and CPR) for health-care providers, and current issues in nursing are all components of the program. Clinical experience comprises 50% of the total program. Areas of employment for Practical Nurses include hospitals, ambulatory care settings, long-term care facilities, home health agencies, private duty, and other appropriate medical areas. The PN program has provisional approval by the Florida Board of Nursing. Upon program completion, graduates are eligible to take NCLEX-PN credentialing examination.

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